Flower supporting device

ABSTRACT

A flower supporting device. A plurality of rotatable beads are connected by connection means having elasticity so that a support body is formed. A plurality of support bodies are arranged to be staggered up and down with each other so that a stem of a flower can be inserted between adjoining supporting bodies to be supported by them.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates, in general, to a flower supporting deviceand, more particularly, to a flower supporting device wherein the stemsof flowers are supported by a plurality of rotatable beads so that theflowers can be inserted and fixedly supported among the rotatable beadsat desired angles while obviating the need for separate fixing means.

BACKGROUND ART

Generally, a flower arrangement is the art of arranging cut flowers withthe use of a frog in a flower basin or with the use of a floral foam (socalled “Oasis”) in a basket, in a variety of forms, so as to decoratethe surroundings more beautifully. The flower arrangements arefrequently used in ceremonies for congratulations and condolences, e.g.a wedding ceremony, an opening ceremony, a graduation ceremony, acelebration ceremony, events, parties, etc. Specially, in modern societywhere aesthetic consciousness is esteemed and pursued owing to thedevelopment of civilization, a job of florist has emerged as a promisingcategory of occupations, who specializes in arranging flowers adaptivelyto use of the flower arrangement and directing them in a beautifulmanner, to thereby increase the value added of flowers at the finalconsumption stage thereof.

To meet the needs of consumers and reflect the trend of the times asdescribed above, various methods for flower arrangements have beenresearched and developed by florists. As a result, a variety of flowerarranging devices enabling the florist to fix and arrange the flowers tothe angels as desired have been researched and developed.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION Technical Problem

However, a means of fixing the stem of a lower having been used for aconventional flower arrangement is designed so that a lower end of thestem is simply fixed onto a frog or a floral foam whereby the lower endof the stem is only fixed by the inserting force. Where an abnormalstate (e.g., damage) has occurred to the lower end of the stem, the stemcannot be positioned in a fixed manner. In this case, even though theflorist concerned is very competent, she or he would have difficulty inarranging the flowers attractively as desired.

In addition, since only the lower end of the stem is fixed the positionof the stem, if long, may not be fixed, may be swayed or bent because ofweak support thereof or outdoor environments, such as wind and the like.

In a case of floral foam the lower end of the stem is inserted thereontowithout damage. However, in a case of a frog, since the lower end of thestem is pierced thereonto, it is liable to be hurt, and thereby, thelife span of the flower may be shortened.

Where flowers are put in a flower base having no fixing means such as afrog or floral foam the flowers are positioned irregularly around themouth of the base according to the stems different in length, where thenumber of flowers put in the base are not sufficient, thereby causingdifficulty in directing them attractively as desired.

Moreover, conventional flower arranging devices have been manufacturedand used depending upon their uses, for example, flower arrangements fortable decoration, wall decoration, flower wreath, etc. These deviceshave formed with a plurality of holes according to required angles(angles of flowers being arranged), or such materials as floral foam areinserted into a frame having a specific type, on which the lower ends ofthe stems are only fixed. That is, depending upon their uses, separateflower arranging devices are required. This causes the problems ofincreasing production costs and consumer purchase costs, therebyincreasing an economical burden to the users.

For decoration of a flat table, flowers are arranged in a flower basinwherein the stems are inserted onto the frog. Because of this, the lowerends of the stems are damaged and the life spans thereof are shortened.In addition, there may be a problem in safety because the florist isliable to be hurt by the frog while she or he is arranging the flowersthereonto.

In a wall decoration using a specific form of frame inside of which afloral foam is installed, considering the characteristics of the walldecoration, the lower ends of the stems are inserted into and supportedby the floral foam installed inside, but the support force is weak andit may also be affected naturally by outdoor environment, therebycausing the aesthetic consciousness to be damaged. In order to avoidsuch a problem, a plurality of holes may be formed on the frame in whichthe floral foam is built. In this case, the flowers are only allowed forarrangement through the holes, thereby representing no desired beauty.Further, there is a limit in the number of flowers that can be used fordecoration.

In a case of wreath decoration, a new frame is needed whenever a newwreath is decorated, thereby consuming a longer time in producing it andhaving a difficulty in reclamation of sources. Since the flowers whosestems are fixed onto the floral foam are located in the center of thewreath, it should be careful to carry it. If not, this may cause thewreath to be damaged and the form thereof to be altered in an easymanner.

Technical Solution

Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind theabove problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the presentinvention is to provide a flower supporting device which is constructedto freely support the stem of a flower to thereby render aestheticappearance, reduce damage to the stem of the flower to thereby lengthena lifetime of the stem of the flower, and be capable of supporting theflower irrespective of a length of the stem of the flower.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a flowersupporting device which allows flower arrangement to be implemented inall directions to thereby render aesthetic appearance in all directions,is not limited by an installation place to permit a flower to bearranged at a desired angle, and provides a cubic effect to a flowerarrangement to further improve the aesthetic appearance.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a flowersupporting device which is used to decorate a table, a wall tapestry, amobile and a wreath, and allows an arrangement angle of a flower to befreely adjusted thereby greatly improving aesthetic appearance of aflower arrangement.

In order to achieve the above objects, according to one aspect of thepresent invention, there is provided a flower supporting device, whereina plurality of rotatable beads are connected by connection means havingelasticity so that a support body is formed and a plurality of supportbodies are arranged to be staggered up and down with each other so thata stem of a flower can be inserted between adjoining supporting bodiesto be supported by them.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda flower supporting device, wherein a plurality of rotatable beads areconnected by connection means having elasticity so that a support bodyis formed a plurality of support bodies are installed on a frameparallel to one another so that a support section is formed and aplurality of support sections are installed in a support housing so thattheir respective support body arrangements are staggered one withanother.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the frame isdefined with a plurality of locking grooves extending downward eachlocking groove is defined in a projecting rod which is formed on a lowersurface of the frame to project downward and each of a plurality ofprojecting rods has an upper support rod portion which is defined withthe locking groove and a lower insertion rod portion which has the sameaxis and diameter as the locking groove, with a shoulder portion formedat a boundary region between the upper support rod portion and the lowerinsertion rod portion.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda flower supporting device, wherein a plurality of rotatable beads areconnected by connection means having elasticity so that a support bodyis formed, and the support body is wound multitude of times on a supportframe which has a predetermined configuration and is defined with aninsertion hole so that a stem of a flower can be inserted through aspace defined between portions of the support body and through theinsertion hole of the support frame.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the support bodyis wound on the support frame so that the portions of the support bodyare staggered one with another.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda flower supporting device, wherein a plurality of rotatable beads areconnected by connection means having elasticity so that a support bodyis formed, a plurality of support bodies are installed on a frameparallel to one another so that a support section composed of upper andlower support body layers which are staggered with each other is formed,and a plurality of support sections are connected one with another sothat a three-dimensional configuration is formed.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the upper andlower support body layers are installed on the frame multitude of timesin such a way as to be staggered with each other.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a water containingsegment is further installed in the flower supporting device.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the watercontaining segment comprises a water and shock absorbing material whichis composed of a plurality of small-sized spherical balls.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the watercontaining segment has a closed space defined therein, and the space isfilled with air.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a water and shockabsorbing material is further installed on an outer surface of eachrotatable bead of the flower supporting device.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a plurality offlexible projections each having elasticity are formed on an outersurface of each rotatable bead of the flower supporting device.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda flower supporting device, wherein a plurality of rotatable beads areconnected to each other so that a support body is formed, the supportbody is arranged to form a knot support having a plurality of knots, andthe knot support is arranged to form a multi-layered support structure,so that a stem of a flower is inserted into each of the knots or into aspace defined between the knots of the knot support arranged to providethe multi-layered support structure.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the knots of theknot support includes a basic knot provided by knotting the support bodyhaving the plurality of rotatable beads, thus defining a basic space inthe basic knot, and a plurality of consecutive knots provided byrepeatedly executing a process of making a first consecutive knot, whichis provided by inserting a remaining part of the support body into thebasic space of the basic knot to define a first consecutive space in thefirst consecutive knot, and a second consecutive knot which is providedby inserting a remaining part of the support body into the firstconsecutive space to define a second consecutive space in the secondconsecutive knot.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and other advantages of thepresent invention will be more clearly understood from the followingdetailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a structure of a support body which is used in aflower supporting device, according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a variation of a rotatable bead according to thepresent invention, which constitutes the support body;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view illustrating a sectional shape of anotherrotatable bead according to the present invention, which constitutes thesupport body;

FIG. 4 is a partially-enlarged exploded perspective view illustratingthe entire construction of a flower supporting device, according to afirst embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a partial enlarged view illustrating an inner structure of theflower supporting device according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention, shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a partially-enlarged exploded perspective view illustratingthe entire construction of a flower supporting device, according to asecond embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a view illustrating a support section of the flower supportingdevice according to the second embodiment of the present invention,shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a partial sectional view illustrating an assembled state ofthe support section of the flower supporting device according to thesecond embodiment of the present invention, shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a partial enlarged view illustrating a corner part of anothersupport section of the flower supporting device according to the secondembodiment of the present invention, shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 10 is a partially-enlarged exploded perspective view illustratingthe entire construction of a flower supporting device, according to athird embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a partial sectional view illustrating an assembled state ofthe flower supporting device according to the third embodiment of thepresent invention, shown in FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a front view illustrating a state wherein flowers arearranged in the flower supporting device according to the thirdembodiment of the present invention, shown in FIG. 10;

FIG. 13 illustrates a structure of a water containing segment which isused in the flower supporting device according to the third embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a partially-enlarged exploded perspective view illustratingthe entire construction of a flower supporting device, according to afourth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a partially-enlarged exploded perspective view illustratinganother application example of the flower supporting device inaccordance with the fourth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 16 is a view partially illustrating a support section of the flowersupporting device according to the fourth embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 17 is a view illustrating an inner structure of the flowersupporting device according to the fourth embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 18 is a view illustrating an inner structure of the flowersupporting device according to the fourth embodiment of the presentinvention, which has a water containing segment;

FIG. 19 is a view illustrating another inner structure of the flowersupporting device according to the fourth embodiment of the presentinvention, which has a water containing segment;

FIG. 20 is a view illustrating an in-use state of the flower supportingdevice according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 21 illustrates a structure of the water containing segment which isused in the flower supporting device according to the fourth embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 22 is a perspective view illustrating the entire construction of aflower supporting device, according to a fifth embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 23 illustrates a forming procedure of the flower supporting deviceaccording to the fifth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 24 is a perspective view illustrating a support frame of the flowersupporting device according to the fifth embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 25 is a perspective view illustrating another support frame of theflower supporting device according to the fifth embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 26 is a sectional view illustrating an inner structure of theflower supporting device according to the fifth embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 27 is a sectional view illustrating another inner structure of theflower supporting device according to the fifth embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 28 is a view illustrating an in-use state of the flower supportingdevice according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 29 illustrates a structure of the water containing segment which isused in the flower supporting device according to the fifth embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 30 is a front view illustrating still another rotatable beadaccording to the present invention, which constitutes the support bodyand is formed with a plurality of projections;

FIG. 31 is a perspective view showing a method of making a knot supportwith a plurality of knots which is used in a flower supporting device,according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 32 is a view showing an example of the flower supporting devicemade of the knot support of FIG. 31;

FIG. 33 is a view showing another example of the flower supportingdevice made of the knot support of FIG. 31, in which a support frame isprovided; and

FIG. 34 is a view showing still another example of the flower supportingdevice made of the knot support FIG. 31, in which a water containingunit is provided.

BEST MODE

Reference will now be made in greater detail to a preferred embodimentof the invention, an example of which is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numerals will be usedthroughout the drawings and the description to refer to the same or likeparts.

FIG. 1 illustrates a structure of a support body which is used in aflower supporting device in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention; FIG. 2 illustrates a variation of a rotatable bead accordingto the present invention, which constitutes the support body; and FIG. 3is a sectional view illustrating a sectional shape of another rotatablebead according to the present invention, which constitutes the supportbody. In the present invention, in order to achieve the aforementionedobjects, a flower supporting device comprises a support body. Thesupport body has a plurality of rotatable beads 1 each of which is tocome into contact with the stem of a flower and has a hole 2 extendingtherethrough, and connection means 3 which is inserted through holes 2of the rotatable beads 1 to connect the rotatable beads 1 one withanother. In the present invention, a plurality of support bodies arearranged in upward, downward leftward and rightward directions so thatthey are staggered one with another. The stem of a flower can beinserted between two adjoining support bodies to be supported by them.

The hole 2 of each rotatable bead 1 is defined to extend through acenter of the rotatable bead 1. The rotatable beads 1 can be rotatedabout the connection means 3 which is fitted through the holes 2 of therotatable beads 1. To this end, a diameter of the connection means 3inserted through the holes 2 is determined to be less than that of theholes 2.

Also, as can be readily seen from FIG. 2, a water and shock absorbingmaterial 4 can be further installed or coated on an outer surface of therotatable bead 1. The water and shock absorbing material 4 may comprisefloral foam sponge, non-woven fabric, urethane foam, cotton, and thelike, which has a plurality of pores to be capable of absorbing waterand shock.

Further, as can be readily seen from FIG. 3, the rotatable bead 1 maycomprise a rubber ball-shaped element having a hole 2 through which theconnection means 3 is inserted and a closed space 5 which is filled withair. A water and shock absorbing material 4 can be installed on an outersurface of the rubber ball-shaped element. The water and shock absorbingmaterial 4 may comprise floral foam, sponge, non-woven fabric, urethanefoam cotton, or the like, which has a plurality of pores to be capableof absorbing water and shock.

Moreover, as shown in FIG. 30, the rotatable bead 1 may be formed on theouter surface thereof with a plurality of flexible projections 6 whichhas a predetermined elasticity. The projections 6 are to come intocontact with the stem of an inserted flower. When the stem of a floweris inserted between two adjoining support bodies, the projection 6functions to fill and eliminate a space existing between two adjoiningrotatable beads 1. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a spaceenlargement phenomenon in which the space existing between two adjoiningrotatable beads 1 is widened due to the insertion of the stem of aflower.

The connection means 3 also has elasticity. The connection means 3 maycomprise an integrated type connector such as fiber, synthetic fiber,synthetic resin, optical fiber, fishing line, and the like, or anassembled type connector such as a chain, and the like.

The support body of the present invention, constructed as mentionedabove, can be installed in a state wherein it is cut to have apredetermined length to thereby be in conformity with a size of asupport housing to be employed. Alternatively, the support body can beinstalled in a state wherein it has a substantial length and is wound ona support base.

The present invention can be modified in a variety of ways, and severalmodifications of the present invention will be described hereafter withreference to preferred embodiments.

First Embodiment

FIG. 4 is a partially-enlarged exploded perspective view illustratingthe entire construction of a flower supporting device in accordance witha first embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 5 is a partialenlarged view illustrating an inner structure of the flower supportingdevice according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Aflower supporting device in accordance with a first embodiment of thepresent invention comprises first and second supporting sections A-10and A-20 each having a plurality of rotatable beads A-11 and A-21, asupport housing A-30 in which the first and second supporting sectionsA-10 and A-20 are received and a water containing segment A-40 which isalso received in the support housing A-30 to be positioned below thefirst and second supporting sections A-10 and A-20.

The first support section A-10 has the plurality of rotatable beadsA-11, connection means A-12 which connect the rotatable beads A-11 whilehaving elasticity, and a frame A-13 to which the connection means A-12are fastened. At this time, the rotatable beads A-11 and the connectionmeans A-12 of the first embodiment respectively have the sameconstructions as those of the rotatable beads 1 and the connection means3 of the support body shown in FIGS. 1 through 3. In other words, in thefirst support section A-10, rotatable beads A-11 are continuouslyconnected, one with another, by each connection means A-12 to form asupport body, and a plurality of support bodies are parallel arrangedwhile they are spaced apart one from another by a predeterminedinterval. Both ends of each connection means A-12 which is insertedthrough holes defined in the rotatable beads are fastened to the frameA-13.

Each rotatable bead A-11 has a diameter of 0.3˜2 cm to support theinserted stem of a flower while not causing damage to the inserted stem.Two adjoining support bodies which have their respective connectionmeans A-12 are installed to be spaced apart from each other by thepredetermined interval which is 0.5˜1.5 times a diameter of the stem ofthe flower.

The second support section A-20 has the same construction as the firstsupport section A-10. The second support section A-20 is received in thesupport housing A-30 while being rotated by 90° from an installationdirection of the first support section A-10, so that a first supportbody arrangement of the first support section A-10 and a second supportbody arrangement of the second support section A-20 are staggered, thatis, crossed with each other when viewed on a plane.

The support housing A-30 supports the first and second support sectionsA-10 and A-20. The water containing segment A-40 is also received in thesupport housing A-30. The support housing A-30 has the same sectionalcontour as the frames A-13 and A-23 of the first and second supportsections. Engaging protrusions A-31 for supporting corner portions ofthe first and second support sections A-10 and A-20 are formed on aninner surface of the support housing A-30 while they are separated fromeach other by a predetermined distance.

The water containing segment A-40 is brought into contact with a lowerend of the stem A-51 of the flower, and is made of a water and shockabsorbing material such as floral foam, sponge, cotton, and the like,which can contain water. The water containing segment A-40 may comprisean integral piece of sheet or a combination in which a plurality ofsmall-sized balls formed of floral foam or sponge are collectivelyaccommodated in an appropriate manner. It is preferred that the watercontaining segment A-40 comprises the combination in which a pluralityof small-sized balls formed of floral foam or sponge are collectivelyaccommodated in an appropriate manner. At this time, the watercontaining segment comprising the combination may have a meshed net (notshown) for preventing the small-sized balls formed of floral foam orsponge from being released. In consideration of the insertion/fixingforce and a water content of the stem of the flower, it is preferable touse the floral foam or sponge balls each having a diameter of 0.3˜2 cm.

Due to the above-described material characteristics of the watercontaining segment A-40 having the small-sized spherical balls, thewater containing segment can be partially and elastically deformed inits shape, the stem of the flower can be easily inserted into the watercontaining segment.

Also, as can be readily seen from FIG. 13, the water containing segmentA-40 may have rubber ball-shaped elements A-43 each of which has aclosed space A-41 which is filled with air. A water and shock absorbingmaterial A-42 is attached to or coated on an outer surface of eachrubber ball-shaped element A-43. The water and shock absorbing materialA-42 may comprise floral foam, sponge, cotton, or the like.

In the flower supporting device according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention, constructed as mentioned above, as can be readilyseen from FIG. 5, the first and second support sections A-10 and A-20are received in the support housing A-30 so that the first support bodyarrangement of the first support section A-10 and the second supportbody arrangement of the second support section A-20 are staggered witheach other. When inserting the flower A-50 in the flower supportingdevice, the stem A-51 of the flower is inserted through the support bodyarrangements of the first and second support sections A-10 and A-20. Bythis fact, the stem A-51 of the flower can be supported by the supportbody arrangements of the first and second support sections A-10 and A-20which are installed to be staggered with each other. Concretelyspeaking, a first portion of the stem of the flower is supported at bothsides thereof by the support body arrangement of the first supportsection A-10, and a second portion of the stem of the flower which isnot brought into contact with the support body arrangement of the firstsupport section A-10 is supported at both sides thereof by the supportbody arrangement of the second support section A-20 (at a position wherethe second portion is rotated by 90° from the first portion). Whenobserving the first and second support sections A-10 and A-20 on aplane, the stern of the flower is inserted through substantiallyquadrangular spaces, that is, gaps which are defined between rotatablebeads of the first and second support sections.

Due to the fact that the rotatable beads A-11 can be freely rotatedabout the connection means A-12, upon insertion of the stem of theflower, the rotatable beads A-11 which acme into contact with the stemof the flower are rotated in a moving direction of the stem to therebyease the insertion of the stem. At this time, since the rotatable beadshave a spherical configuration, the stem of the flower which comes intocontact with the rotatable beads is not damaged at all.

In the present invention, the rotatable beads, connection means, supporthousing support section may be made of various materials such as atransparent material, an opaque material having appropriate colors,metal, wood synthetic fiber, resin, etc., which have a desired hardness.

Second Embodiment

FIG. 6 is a partially-enlarged exploded perspective view illustratingthe entire construction of a flower supporting device in accordance witha second embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 7 is a viewillustrating a support section of the flower supporting device accordingto the second embodiment of the present invention, shown in FIG. 6; FIG.8 is a partial sectional view illustrating an assembled state of thesupport section of the flower supporting device according to the secondembodiment of the present invention, shown in FIG. 6; and FIG. 9 is apartial enlarged view illustrating a corner part of another supportsection of the flower supporting device according to the secondembodiment of the present invention, shown in FIG. 6. A flowersupporting device in accordance with a second embodiment of the presentinvention comprises a support housing A-30 a having a configuration inwhich an outer surface thereof is tapered the water containing segmentA-40 which is received in the support housing A-30 a, and an integralsupport section A-60 which is also received in the support housing A-30a to be positioned on the water containing segment A-40.

In the integral support section A-60, a plurality of support bodies eachcomprising connections means A-12 and rotatable beads A-1 are arrangedto form two layers including upper and lower layers. The upper and lowersupport body arrangements are formed to be staggered with each other.That is to say, in the integral support section A-60, the first andsecond support sections A-10 and A-20 are integrated with each other. Asshown in FIG. 7, in the integral support section A-60, upper and lowersupport body arrangements A-61 and A-62 are disposed in a single frameA-63 in a manner such that they are spaced part from each other by anappropriate distance.

Also, in the integral support section A-60, a fixing tab A-64 made of anelastic material is installed on a side of the frame A-63. The fixingtab A-64 functions to prevent the integral support section A-60 frombeing turned over when the integral support section A-60 is insertedinto the support housing A-30 a. The fixing tab A-64 is formed tosurround the side of the frame A-63 and partially extend downward beyonda lower end of the side of the frame A-63. Namely, an outer wall of thefixing tab A-64 has a length which is greater than a height of the frameA-63. When the integral support section A-60 is inserted into thesupport housing A-30 a, the outer wall of the fixing tab A-64 is broughtinto contact with an inner surface of the support housing A-30 a tofirmly support the integral support section A-60.

Also, as shown in FIG. 9, the fixing tab A-64 may be installed on eachcorner of the frame A-63 to support the integral support section A-60which is inserted into the support housing A-30 a. In this case wherethe fixing tab A-64 is installed on each corner of the frame A-63, it isnot necessary for the fixing tab A-64 to partially extend downwardbeyond the lower end of the frame A-63.

As best shown in FIG. 8, the integral support section A-60 may have aconfiguration in which two frames A-63 a and A-63 b are coupled witheach other. In this case, the coupling configuration has an upper frameA-63 a in which the upper support body arrangement is positioned and alower frame A-63 b in which the lower support body arrangement ispositioned.

A corner portion of the upper frame A-63 a is defined with a lockinggroove A-631 a which extends downward. The locking groove A-631 a isdefined in a projecting rod A-632 a which is formed on a lower surfaceof the corner portion of the upper frame A-63 a to extend downward. Theprojecting rod A-632 a has an upper support rod portion A-633 a which isdefined with the locking groove A-631 a and a lower insertion rodportion A-634 a which is inserted into a locking groove A-631 b of thelower frame A-63 b. The lower insertion rod portion A-634 a isintegrally formed at a lower end of the upper support rod portion A-633a (while having a diameter which is different from that of the uppersupport rod portion A-633 a). The upper support rod portion A-633 a hasa diameter which is greater than that of the lower insertion rod portionA-634 a. It is not needed that the projecting rod A-632 a has acylindrical shape and rather, may have a quadrangular or polygonalsectional shape. It is to be noted that the lower insertion rod portionA-634 a and the locking groove A-631 a of the projecting rod A-632 ahave the same diameter. The upper and lower frames A-63 a and A-63 b areconstructed in the same manner except that a projecting rod A-632 b ofthe lower frame A-63 b does not have a lower insertion rod portion.

In the flower supporting device according to the second embodiment ofthe present invention, constructed as mentioned above, if a flower isinserted into the flower supporting device, a middle portion of the stemof the flower can be supported by the upper and lower support bodyarrangements which are disposed to be staggered with each other.

Third Embodiment

FIG. 10 is a partially-enlarged exploded perspective view illustratingthe entire construction of a flower supporting device in accordance witha third embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 11 is a partialsectional view illustrating an assembled state of the flower supportingdevice according to the third embodiment of the present invention, shownin FIG. 10. A flower supporting device in accordance with a thirdembodiment of the present invention comprises a first support sectionA-10 a in which support bodies each for supporting the plurality ofrotatable beads A-11 are installed a second support section A-20 a whichhas the same structure as the first support section A-10 a and iscoupled to a lower end of the first support section A-10 a, a mainsupport frame A-70 which is placed coupled to a lower end of the secondsupport section A-20 a, and the water containing segment A-40 which isinstalled in the main support frame A-70 and positioned below the secondsupport section A-20 a.

The first support section A-10 a comprises the support bodies each ofwhich is composed of the plurality of rotatable beads A-11 and theconnection means A-12 for connecting the rotatable beads A-11, and aframe A-13 a to which the connection means A-12 are fastened. Therotatable beads A-11, connection means A-12 and the frame A-13 a arestructured to have the same connection relationship as the first andsecond support sections A-10 and A-20 of FIG. 4.

As in the case of the locking groove A-631 a and the projecting rodA-632 a of the second embodiment, a corner portion of the frame A-13 ais defined with a locking groove A-131 a which extends downward. Thelocking groove A-131 a is defined in a projecting rod A-132 a which isformed on a lower surface of the corner portion of the frame A-13 a toextend downward. The projecting rod A-132 a has an upper support rodportion A-133 a which is defined with the locking groove A-131 a and alower insertion rod portion A-134 a which is inserted into a lockinggroove A-231 a of a frame A-23 a of the second support section A-20 a.The lower insertion rod portion A-134 a is integrally formed at a lowerend of the upper support rod portion A-133 a (while having a diameterwhich is not equal to that of the upper support rod portion A-133 a).The upper support rod portion A-133 a has a diameter which is greaterthan that of the lower insertion rod portion A-134 a. It is not neededthat the projecting rod A-132 a has a cylindrical shape and rather, mayhave a quadrangular or polygonal sectional shape.

The second support section A-20 a has the same construction as the firstsupport section A-10 a. In other words, the second support section A-20a is coupled to the first support section A-10 a so that a rotatablebead arrangement of the second support section A-20 a is staggered withthat of the first support section A-10 a while being rotated by 90° froman installation direction of the first support section A-10 a. Hence,the first and second support sections A-10 a and A-20 a are coupled witheach other in a manner such that the lower insertion rod portion A-134 aof the projecting rod A-132 a of the first support section A-10 a isinserted into the locking groove A-231 a of the second support sectionA-20 a.

The main support frame A-70 is locked to the first and second supportsections A-10 a and A-20 a which are coupled with each other, to supportthem. The main support frame A-70 is formed at corner portions thereofwith locking rods A-71 which have substantially the same configurationas the projecting rods A-132 a and A-232 a of the first and secondsupport sections. Each locking rod A-71 is defined at an upper endthereof with a locking groove A-72 which is the same as the lockinggrooves A-131 a and A-231 a of the first and second support sections. Asub frame A-73 in which the water containing segment A-40 is inserted isformed on a center portion of the main support frame A-70.

The water containing segment A-40 is brought into contact with a lowerend of the stem of the flower, and is made of floral foam sponge,cotton, etc. The water containing segment A-40 may comprise an integralpiece of sheet or a combination in which a plurality of small-sizedballs formed of floral foam or sponge are collectively accommodated inan appropriate manner. It is preferred that the water containing segmentA-40 comprises the combination in which a plurality of small-sized ballsformed of floral foam sponge, cotton, etc., or a plurality of ballsfilled with air and having attached to an outer surface thereof a waterand shock absorbing material such as floral foam and sponge arecollectively accommodated in an appropriate manner. At this time, thewater containing segment comprising the combination may have a meshednet for preventing the small-sized spherical balls formed of floral foamor sponge from being released.

That is to say, when the main support frame A-70 is not provided withthe sub frame A-73, the water containing segment A-40 comprising thecombination in which the balls formed of floral foam or sponge arecollectively accommodated can be placed on the main support frame A-70.Also it is possible to use the main support frame while obviating theneed for the meshed net, in a state wherein the balls formed of floralfoam or sponge and the balls filled with air and having installed on theouter surface thereof floral foam or sponge are accommodated in the mainsupport frame A-70.

FIG. 12 is a front view illustrating a state wherein flowers arearranged in the flower supporting device according to the thirdembodiment of the present invention, shown in FIG. 10. When it isnecessary to arrange flowers using the flower supporting deviceaccording to the third embodiment of the present invention, in which thesupport body arrangements are installed up and down to be staggered witheach other, by pushing downward the stem of a flower between twoadjoining support bodies of the first support section, the stem isinserted through a space defined between the two adjoining supportbodies of the first support section while rotating rotatable beads.Then, after passing through the space, the stem comes into contact withthe lower support body arrangement. By continuously moving the stem ofthe flower downward the stem of the flower is inserted through a spacedefined between two adjoining support bodies of the second supportsection while rotating rotatable beads of the lower support bodyarrangement. Thereafter, a distal end of the stem of the flower isinserted into the water containing segment which is positioned in thesub frame.

The distal end of the stem of the flower inserted into the watercontaining segment in this way is secured with respect to the watercontaining segment. Therefore, since a middle portion of the stem isfixedly held by the support bodies which are disposed to be staggeredwith each other, it is possible to arrange the stems of flowers to adesired style. In the present invention, depending upon a length of thestem of the flower which is to be supported or as occasion demands, aplurality of the first and second support sections can be used in astate wherein they are connected one with another.

Also, in the present invention, the rotatable beads can be installed onthe respective first and second support body arrangements which aredisposed to be staggered with each other, in a mariner such that anangle of 10˜90° is measured between the rotatable bead arrangements ofthe first and second support sections. In the case that the rotatablebead arrangements of the first and second support sections has the angleof 10˜90°, instead of the two support sections, a plurality of supportsections can be employed to be operatively connected one with another,so that a plurality of support bodies are brought into contact with thestem to effectively support the flowers.

Further, in the present invention, in the case that the balls which arefilled with air and have installed or coated on the outer surfacesthereof floral foam or sponge are used to constitute the watercontaining segment, when water is supplied into the water containingsegment, as the floral foam or sponge attached to the outer surfaces ofthe balls draws the water, the balls float to the surface of the waterby buoyancy. Namely, by the presence of the balls which float to thesurface of the water, evaporation of the water supplied into the subframe, in which the water containing segment is received is prevented.Accordingly, it is possible to supply water to the stem of the flowerfor extended periods. Moreover, due to the water absorbed into the outersurfaces of the balls, water can be simultaneously supplied to the stemof the flower. At this time, the rubber ball-shaped elements can supportthe stem of the flower, irrespective of an amount of supplied water,which is inserted between two adjoining ball elements, with the aid ofthe water and shock absorbing material.

Also, when the water containing segment according to the presentinvention is inserted into a flower vase which has the same volume asthe main frame or the sub frame installed on the main frame, the watercontaining segment can contain water due to the presence of the waterand shock absorbing material. Therefore, the inserted stem is supportedby the plurality of balls each containing water. Also, because aseparate layer composed of the water containing balls is formedevaporation of the water, and it is possible to supply water to the stemof the flower for extended periods.

Fourth Embodiment

FIG. 14 is a partially-enlarged exploded perspective view illustratingthe entire construction of a flower supporting device in accordance witha fourth embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 15 is apartially-enlarged exploded perspective view illustrating anotherapplication example of the flower supporting device in accordance withthe fourth embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 17 is a viewillustrating an inner structure of the flower supporting deviceaccording to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. A flowersupporting device in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the presentinvention comprises a plurality of triangular support sections B-50which are connected or coupled to one another to define athree-dimensional configuration such as a trigonal pyramid. In eachtriangular support section B-50, support bodies each of which iscomposed of connection means B-40 and a plurality of rotatable beadsB-10 are disposed to form upper and lower layers which are parallel toeach other and spaced apart from each other by an appropriate distance.At this time, each of the support bodies of the fourth embodiment hasthe same construction as that of the support body shown in FIGS. 1through 3.

That is to say, the triangular support section B-50 has support bodieswhich are installed in a parallel fashion on a triangular frame B-51 tobe spaced apart one from another by a predetermined interval to therebyform each of the upper and lower layers. As described above, in eachsupport body, the rotatable beads B-10 are connected by the connectionmeans B-40.

At this time, the upper and lower support body layers B-20 and B-30 areinstalled on the triangular frame B-51 in a manner such that the supportbodies constituting the upper support body layer B-20 which is disposedoutward in the drawing and the support bodies constituting the lowersupport body layer B-30 which is disposed inward in the drawing arestaggered with each other. It is preferred that the upper and lowersupport body layers B-20 and B-30 are disposed to be staggered with eachother so that an intervening angle of 90° is defined between them. Ofcourse, in the present invention, a plurality of upper and lower supportbody layers can be repeatedly installed, and, in this case, dependingupon the number of the upper and lower support body layers which arerepeatedly installed, an intervening angle between two adjoining supportbody layers can be appropriately changed. For example, in the case thatan upwardly positioned support body layer and a downwardly positionedsupport body layer are installed to be staggered with each other tothereby define an intervening angle of 45°, the stem of the flower canbe supported on eight parts by four support body layers. Thus, in thepresent invention, if the support bodies are installed to define aplurality of support body layers, by changing an intervening anglemeasured between the support bodies of two adjoining support bodylayers, it is possible to securely support the stem of the flower.

The rotatable bead B-10 has a diameter of 0.3˜1.5 cm so as to supportand the stem of the flower and not to cause damage to the stem of theflower. Two adjoining support bodies are arranged to be spaced apartfrom each other by a predetermined interval which is 0.5˜1.5 times adiameter of the stem of the flower.

In the present embodiment of the present invention, triangular supportsections each constructed as mentioned above are assembled one withanother to define a three-dimensional configuration such as a trigonalpyramid etc. The assembly of the triangular support sections isimplemented using the conventional assembling means, that is, throughinsertion of a projecting bracket or by an adhesive.

When a flower is arranged on the flower supporting device according tothis embodiment of the present invention constructed as mentioned above,if the stem of a flower to be inserted through a surface of the trigonalpyramid has a substantial length, after the stem of the flower isinserted through the surface of the trigonal pyramid, depending upon alength thereof the stem can project to the outside out of anothersurface of the trigonal pyramid. At this time, since the connectionmeans for connecting the rotatable beads one with another has apredetermined elasticity, a space through which the stem of the flowercan passes is secured when the stem of the flower is inserted. Becausethe stem of the flower passes through the two surfaces of the trigonalpyramid the flower can be securely supported by the two surfaces of thetrigonal pyramid.

Further, due to the fact that the connection means passes through theholes defined in the rotatable beads, the rotatable beads can be rotatedabout the connection means. Thus, when the stem of the flower isinserted into the flower supporting device of the present invention, asthe rotatable beads are brought into contact with the stem of theflower, the rotatable beads are rotated about the connection means.Therefore, due to the rotation of the rotatable beads, the insertion ofthe stem of the flower can be easily implemented and damage to the stemof the flower is greatly reduced. Moreover, since the water and shockabsorbing material which is defined with a plurality of pores isinstalled on the outer surface of each rotatable bead, water containedin the pores of the water and shock absorbing material can betransferred to the stem of the flower due to the contact between thestem of the flower and the water and shock absorbing material.

In the case that a flower having a short length is inserted into asurface of the trigonal pyramid, because the two support body layers areinstalled to be staggered with each other in the triangular supportsection which constitutes one surface of the trigonal pyramid, the stemof the flower is fixed by the support bodies arranged to define twolayers. That is to say, while the two support body layers are installedparallel to each other to define therebetween an intervening angle of90°, both sides of a portion of the stem are supported by the uppersupport body layer, and both sides of another portion of the stem aresupported by the lower support body layer. As a result, the stem of theflower can be supported at four parts by the support bodies.

FIG. 18 is a view illustrating an inner structure of the flowersupporting device according to the fourth embodiment of the presentinvention, which has a water containing segment; and FIG. 19 is a viewillustrating another inner structure of the flower supporting deviceaccording to the fourth embodiment of the present invention, which has awater containing segment. The flower supporting device according to thisembodiment of the present invention can be provided with a watercontaining segment B-60 which is capable of containing water.

The water containing segment B-60 comes into contact with a lower end ora middle portion of the stem of a flower to supply water to the flower.The water containing segment B-60 comprises a combination in which aplurality of small-sized balls formed of a water and shock absorbingmaterial capable of containing water, such as floral foam or sponge, arecollectively accommodated in an appropriate manner. The water containingsegment comprising the combination may have a meshed net (not shown) forpreventing the small-sized balls formed of floral foam or sponge frombeing released. Also, in consideration of the insertion/fixing force anda water content of the stem of the flower, it is preferable to use thefloral foam or sponge balls each having a diameter of 0.3˜2 cm.

Further, as can be readily seen from FIG. 21, the water containingsegment B-60 may have rubber ball-shaped elements B-63 each of which canbe elastically deformed in its shape and has a closed space B-61 whichis filled with air. A water and shock absorbing material B-62 can beattached to or coated on an outer surface of each rubber ball-shapedelement B-63. The water and shock absorbing material B-62 may comprisesponge, urethane foam, floral foam, or the like.

FIG. 20 is a view illustrating an in-use state of the flower supportingdevice according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. Asdescribed above, in the case that a flower B-100 is arranged on theflower supporting device according to this embodiment of the presentinvention, having installed therein the water containing segment B-60,if the stem B-110 of the flower is pushed downward toward a surface ofthe trigonal pyramid, the stem B-110 of the flower B-100 is insertedinto the inside of the trigonal pyramid through the upper and lowersupport body layers which constitute one surface of the trigonalpyramid. Thereafter, a distal end of the stem is inserted into a spacedefined among the balls formed of floral foam or sponge, whichconstitute the water containing segment B-60 which is positioned inwardof the surface of the trigonal pyramid. In the case that the stem of theflower has a substantial length, after the stem of the flower isinserted through the surface of the trigonal pyramid, the stem canproject to the outside out of another surface of the trigonal pyramid.Therefore, as the stem of the flower having passed through one surfaceof the trigonal pyramid, the water containing segment and anothersurface of the trigonal pyramid is securely supported primarily by theupper and lower support body layers which are installed to be staggeredwith each other and constitute one surface of the trigonal pyramid,secondarily by the balls formed of floral foam or sponge, and finally bythe upper and lower support body layers which are installed to bestaggered with each other and constitute another surface of the trigonalpyramid. That is to say, the stem of the flower is supported at threeparts thereon. In the case that the stem of a flower has a short length,the stem can be securely supported by the balls formed of floral foam orsponge which constitute the water containing segment and are positionedinside the trigonal pyramid, and/or by the upper and lower support bodylayers which are installed to be staggered with each other to constituteone surface of the trigonal pyramid.

Besides, in the present invention, as shown in FIG. 15, it is possibleto form a quadrangular pyramid-shaped configuration in a manner suchthat sides of the quadrangular pyramid are formed by connecting thetriangular support sections one with another and a bottom of thequadrangular pyramid has a quadrangular shape rather than a triangularone. At this time, each of the surfaces which constitute the sides ofthe quadrangular pyramid has the same construction as the aforementionedtriangular support section.

A person skilled in the art will readily recognize that this embodimentof the present invention can be modified to form variousthree-dimensional configurations including a trigonal pyramid atetrahedron, etc. by using the triangular support sections. In thisembodiment of the present invention, even when the flower supportingdevice does not have any water containing segment, by submerging theflower supporting device into water, water is supplied to the stem ofthe flower.

Fifth Embodiment

FIG. 22 is a perspective view illustrating the entire construction of aflower supporting device in accordance with a fifth embodiment of thepresent invention; and FIG. 23 illustrates a forming procedure of theflower supporting device according to the fifth embodiment of thepresent invention. A flower supporting device in accordance with a fifthembodiment of the present invention comprises a support frame C-10 whichis defined at a center portion thereof with an insertion hole C-11, anda support body C-20 which is wound on the support frame C-10 to theextent that the insertion hole C-11 is substantially not viewed from theoutside.

The support frame C-10 serves as a flower vase. As shown in FIG. 24, inorder to prepare the support frame C-10, a plate having a predeterminedthickness is defined at a center portion thereof with the insertiongroove C-11. The insertion groove C-11 is defined to extend from anupper surface to a lower surface of the plate, that is, through thesupport frame C-10. At this time, a person skilled in the art willreadily recognize that the support frame C-10 may have a shape of apolygon such as a triangle, quadrangle, pentagon, etc. Also it is notnecessary that the insertion hole have a circular sectional shape. Asshown in FIG. 25, the support frame C-10 may be defined with a pluralityof engagement holes C-12 at around the insertion hole C-11. Moreover,the support frame C-10 may have not only the plate-shaped configurationbut also a three-dimensional configuration such as a polyhedron, whichhas a plurality of insertion holes extending therethrough. In thisregard, a hollow three-dimensional configuration such as a hollowpolyhedron can be adopted.

The support body C-20 is brought into contact with the stem C-31 of aflower to securely support the stem C-31 of the flower. In the supportbody C-20, a plurality of rotatable beads C-21 are connected byconnection means in the shape of an elongate band. At this time, eachrotatable bead C-21 has a diameter of 0.3˜1.5 cm to support the stemC-31 of the flower while not damaging the stem C-31. At this time, therotatable beads C-21 and the connection means of the fifth embodimentrespectively have the same constructions as those of the rotatable beads1 and the connection means 3 of the support body shown in FIGS. 1through 3.

As clearly shown in FIG. 23, the support body C-20 is installed in amanner such that it is continuously wound up and down on the supportframe C-10 in a zigzagged manner and the insertion hole C-11 of thesupport frame is substantially not viewed from the outside. As thesupport body C-20 is installed zigzag about the insertion hole C-11, amiddle portion of the support frame C-10 which is defined with theinsertion hole C-11 is roundly shaped in the form of a thread skein. Thesupport body C-20 is installed to form a multitude of layers. Since thesupport body C-20 is installed in the zigzagged manner, the connectionmeans for connecting the rotatable beads C-21 is disposed so thatportions of the connection means are staggered one with anothermultitude of times in diverse directions.

In other words, due to the fact that portions of the support body C-20are staggered one with another, installation directions of theconnection means are also staggered one with another. As a consequence,the rotatable beads C-21 are installed in various installationdirections, and a space is defined among adjoining rotatable beads whichare aligned in various directions.

FIG. 26 is a sectional view illustrating an inner structure of theflower supporting device according to the fifth embodiment of thepresent invention. In FIG. 26, the support body C-20 is wound on thesupport frame C-10 which is defined with the insertion hole C-11 in amanner such that portions of the support body C-20 are staggered onewith another, by which a plurality of spaces, that is, gaps are definedin the support body C-20.

FIG. 27 is a sectional view illustrating another inner structure of theflower supporting device according to the fifth embodiment of thepresent invention. In FIG. 27, a water containing segment C-50 isdisposed in the insertion groove C-11 of the support frame, and thesupport body C-20 is wound in the same manner as shown in FIG. 23 sothat the water containing segment C-50 is positioned in the support bodyC-20. The middle portion of the support frame C-10 is shaped to befurther rounded due to the presence of the water containing segmentC-50. It is to be noted that, depending upon a size of the watercontaining segment C-50, the support body C-20 wound on the supportframe may have a circular contour.

The water containing segment C-50 comes into contact with a lower end ora middle portion of the stem of a flower. The water containing segmentC-50 comprises a combination in which a plurality of small-sized ballsformed of floral foam or sponge are collectively accommodated in anappropriate manner. The water containing segment C-50 comprising thecombination may have a meshed net for preventing the small-sized ballsformed of floral foam or sponge from being released. Also inconsideration of the insertion/fixing force and a water content of thestem of the flower, it is preferable to use the floral foam or spongeballs each having a diameter of 0.3˜2 cm.

Further, as shown in FIG. 29, the water containing segment may haverubber ball-shaped elements C-52 each of which has a closed space B-61filled with air. A water and shock absorbing material C-53 can beinstalled on an outer surface of each rubber ball-shaped element C-52.The water and shock absorbing material C-53 may comprise floral foam,sponge, or the like. Therefore, the rubber ball-shaped rotatable beadsand the rubber ball-shaped elements constituting the water containingsegment have similar constructions. The water containing segment and therotatable beads are formed so that they can be freely and elasticallydeformed in its shape depending upon their material characteristics,whereby it is possible to prevent the stem of the flower from beingdamaged and easily supply water to the flower.

FIG. 28 is a view illustrating an in-use state of the flower supportingdevice according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. Ifthe distal end of the stem C-31 is inserted through a space defined inthe support body C-20 which is installed to be wound on the supportframe C-10 multitude of times, as the support body is brought intocontact with an outer surface of the stem in a plurality of directions,the portions of the support body C-20 which are disposed to be staggeredone with another support the sides of the stem C-31 at various positionsto securely hold the stem C-31 in a space (a gap) defined among therotatable beads.

At this time, because the rotatable beads C-21 are installed to berotated about the connection means, when the stem C-31 of the flower isinserted into the support body, due to contact with the stem of theflower, the rotatable beads C-21 are rotated about the connection meansin such a way as to ease the inward movement of the stem. Further, sincethe connection means has a predetermined elasticity, a space throughwhich the stem of the flower can passes is secured when the stem of theflower is inserted. Because the water and shock absorbing materialcapable of absorbing water is further installed on the outer surface ofthe rotatable bead C-21, it is possible to supply water to the stem ofthe flower which comes into contact with the water and shock absorbingmaterial.

Sixth Embodiment

FIG. 31 is a perspective view showing a method of making a knot supportwith a plurality of knots which is used in a flower supporting device,according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 32 isa view showing an example of the flower supporting device made of theknot support of FIG. 31. A flower supporting device according to a sixthembodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of rotatablebeads. A support body D-10 is produced by coupling the plurality ofrotatable beads to each other. A knot support D-10 a is produced byspecifically arranging the support body D-10 to form the plurality ofknots. To provide the flower supporting device, the knot support D-10 ais arranged to form a predetermined support structure. Thereafter, stemsof the flowers are inserted into and fastened in the knots of the knotsupport D-10 a or spaces (gaps) defined between the knots of the knotsupport D-10 a.

The support body D-10 executes a role of supporting the stems of theflowers while being in contact with the stems of the flowers, and hasthe same construction as that of the support body C-20 of the fifthembodiment.

The knot support D-10 a is produced by specifically arranging thesupport body D-10, which has the plurality of rotatable beads and theconnection means, to form the plurality of knots with the support bodyD-10. As shown in FIG. 31, the knots of the knot support D-10 a includesa basic knot D-21 which is provided by knotting the support body D-10 todefine a predetermined space in the basic knot D-21, and a firstconsecutive knot D-22 which is provided by inserting a remaining part ofthe support body D-10 into the predetermined space of the basic knotD-21 to define another space in the first consecutive knot D-22. Theknots of the knot support D-10 a further include a second consecutiveknot D-23 which is provided by inserting a remaining part of the supportbody D-10 into the space of the first consecutive knot D-22, thusdefining another space in the second consecutive knot D-23.

That is, to produce the knot support D-10 a, the support body D-10loosely forms the basic knot D-21, thus defining a basic space D-21 a inthe basic knot D-21. Thereafter, the remaining part of the support bodyD-10 is inserted into the basic space D-21 a of the basic knot D-21, sothat the first consecutive knot D-22 is formed to define therein a firstconsecutive space D-22 a. In the above state, the remaining part of thesupport body D-10 is inserted into the first consecutive space D-22 a ofthe first consecutive knot D-22, so that the second consecutive knotD-23 is formed to define therein a second consecutive space D-23 a. Byrepeatedly executing the above-mentioned process of making the knots,third fourth and more consecutive knots 24, 25, ???, etc, are provided.

After making the knot support D-10 a through the above-mentionedprocess, the knot support D-10 a is arranged to form a support structurehaving a desired shape, such as a ball shape, a rugby-ball shape, ahexahedral shape and etc. Thereafter, each of both ends of the knotsupport D-10 a is fastened to each of predetermined portions of the knotsupport D-10 a by a coupling means, such as a pin, a rope, a clip, atape and etc., thus preventing the knot support D-10 a from beingundesirably loosened.

When making the knots, the support D-10 must be loosely pulled to definea space in each of the knots. To prevent the knot support D-10 a frombeing undesirably loosened the knot support D-10 a is consecutivelyarranged in a zigzag pattern in which parts of the knot support D-10 across with each other.

As such, when the parts of the knot support D-10 a cross each other inthe zigzag pattern, the knots of the knot support D-10 a are tangled toeach other, and the knot support D-10 a is repeatedly overlapped on topof another part. At this time, because the plurality of knots areconsecutively provided in the knot support D-10 a, a plurality of spacesare defined in the knots, between knots, defined between the rotatablebeads. Therefore, the flower supporting device of the present invention,which is produced by arranging the knot support D-10 a into the supportstructure having a predetermined shape, such as the ball shape, therugby-ball shape, the hexahedral shape and etc., has therein theplurality of spaces into which the stems of the flowers are inserted.

Furthermore, the knot support D-10 a may have knots of any types todefine therein predetermined spaces, without being limited to theabove-mentioned knots of a chain-stitch type comprising the basic knotD-21 and the consecutive knots, as shown in FIG. 31. That is, the flowersupporting device of the present invention may be produced to have knotsof various types.

FIG. 32 is a view showing the example of the flower supporting devicemade of the knot support of FIG. 31. As shown in FIG. 32, the knotsupport D-10 a with the plurality of knots is arranged to form acrossing-support structure. Thereafter, each of the both ends of theknot support D-10 a is fastened to each of the predetermined portions ofthe knot support D-10 a to prevent the knot support D-10 a from beingundesirably loosened. Thus, the predetermined spaces which are thespaces defined in the knots, or the spaces (gaps) defined between therotatable beads are defined in the knot support D-10 a having thecrossing-support structure. The stems of the flowers are inserted intothe predetermined spaces (gaps) of the knot support D-10 a to besupported.

When the stems of flowers are inserted into the predetermined spaces ofthe knot support D-10 a, the knot support D-10 a having thecrossing-support structure supports and fastens therein each of thestems of the flowers at various angles, because a plurality of portionsof an outer surface of each of the stems of the flowers are in closecontact with the support body D-10.

At this time, because the rotatable beads are rotatably provided aroundthe connection means, the stems of the flowers are smoothly insertedinto the flower supporting device while the stems of the flowers are incontact with the rotatable beads. Furthermore, the connection means hasthe predetermined elasticity, so that the stems of the flowers may beinserted into the predetermined spaces (gaps) which are elasticallyformed in the flower supporting device. In addition, the rotatable beadsor a water and shock absorbing materials, which are provided around anouter surfaces of the rotatable beads, each have a plurality of pores.Therefore, the flower supporting device of the present inventioncontains therein a large amount of water, thus smoothly feeding thewater to the stems of the flowers.

FIG. 33 is a view showing another example of the flower supportingdevice made of the knot support of FIG. 31, in which a support frame isprovided. As shown in FIG. 33, the knot support D-10 a of the flowersupporting device according to the sixth embodiment may be used alongwith the support frame D-30. That is, the knot support D-10 a is woundaround the support frame D-30, which has therein an insert hole D-31, ina zigzag pattern in which the knot support D-10 a repeatedly passesupward and downward through the insert hole D-31 without being exposedto the outside. Thus, the insert hole D-31 of the support frame D-30 iscovered with the knot support D-10 a. As such, the knot support D-10 ais repeatedly wound around the support frame D-30 in the zigzag pattern,so that an intermediate portion of the support frame D-30 which is theportion having the insert hole D-31 is rounded with the knot supportD-10 a, like a skein of thread. After the knot support D-10 a isprovided around the support frame D-30, the stems of the flowers aresupported in the knots and in the spaces defined between the knots andbetween the rotatable beads D-11.

FIG. 34 is a view showing further another example of the flowersupporting device made of the knot support FIG. 31, in which a watercontaining unit is provided. To provide the flower supporting deviceaccording to the sixth embodiment of the present invention, the knotsupport D-10 a may be wound around a water containing unit D-40. Thatis, the knot support D-10 a is wound around the water containing unitD-40 of a floral foam or an aggregation in which a plurality of smallfloral foams each having a ball shape, or a plurality of sponge ballsare aggregated.

In case that the water containing unit D-40 is provided in the flowersupporting device, it is possible to increase a size of the flowersupporting device of the present invention. Furthermore, the watercontaining unit D-40 receives therein an intermediate portion or a lowerportion of each of the stems of the flowers, so that a sufficient amountof water can be fed to the flowers. Furthermore, the water containingunit D-40 may be provided in the insert hole D-31 of the support frameD-30.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

As apparent from the above description, the flower supporting deviceaccording to the present invention, constructed as mentioned above,provides advantages in that, since a plurality of support bodies arearranged to be staggered one with another to thereby support the stem ofa flower, it is possible to easily insert the stem of the flower betweenthe support bodies irrespective of a length of the stem whereby flowerscan be freely arranged on the flower supporting device.

Also, in the present invention, in the case that rotatable beads,connection means, support frames and support sections are formed of atransparent material or a material having desired colors, aestheticappearance rendered when flower arrangement is implemented using thepresent flower supporting device can be further improved even when thenumber of the flowers to be arranged is decreased.

Further, in the present invention, by the fact that the rotatable beadswhich come into contact with the stem of the flower are installed to berotated about the connection means, because the rotatable beads arerotated with the insertion of the stem of the flower, damage to the stemof the flower is not caused whereby it is possible to extend a lifetimeof the stem and the aesthetic appearance of the flower can be renderedfor lengthy periods.

Moreover, in the present invention, a water and shock absorbing materialhaving a plurality of pores is further installed on an outer surface ofeach rotatable bead, water can be contained in the pores, and thereby,it is possible to supply water to the stem of the flower which comesinto contact with the water and shock absorbing material.

Furthermore, in the present invention, due to the fact that a watercontaining segment comprises a combination of small-sized balls eachcapable of containing water, water can be preserved and supplied to thestem of the flower. Particularly, in the case that the balls are filledwith air, since an additional covering layer capable of containing waterby itself is formed on the surface of water, water can be supplied tothe stem of the flower for extended periods.

In addition, because the water containing segment can contain water byitself in the case that water is supplied to the stem of the flower withthe water containing segment received in a separate receptacle such as aflower vase, rolling of the water contained in the flower vase isprevented whereby it is possible to prevent water from overflowing outof the flower vase.

Besides, as shown in FIG. 30, in the case that a rotatable bead which isformed on an outer surface thereof with a plurality of flexibleprojections each having predetermined elasticity is used a space definedamong adjoining rotatable beads is removed by the presence of theflexible projections. Consequently, when the stem of the flower isinserted into the flower supporting device, force for supporting theinserted stem of the flower can be increased.

Also, as shown in FIG. 25, since the support frame is defined withengagement holes, the flower supporting device according to the presentinvention can be employed to decorate a table as well as a walltapestry, and can be installed at a center portion of a wreath tocooperate with a frame of the wreath. In the fifth embodiment of thepresent invention as describe above, because the support part isinstalled about the support frame, flowers can be arranged in bothvertical directions. Therefore, it is possible to use the flowersupporting device according to the present invention in a space devoidof a support surface and in various interior decorations such as in thecase of a mobile which is connected to the ceiling whereby aestheticappearance rendered by the flower supporting device according to thepresent invention can be further improved.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 31, in the case that a knot support isprovided by arranging the support body to form a plurality of knots, andthen arranged to cross in all directions, sufficient spaces are providedin the flower supporting device. Thus, a user can insert large numbersof flowers into the spaces, and fasten the flowers at desired anglesregardless of directions of inserting the flowers into the flowersupporting device.

Moreover, the present invention provides the flower supporting devicewith a simple construction, thus easily producing the flower supportingdevices. Furthermore, in the flower supporting device of the presentinvention, knots, which serve as a means for supporting the flowers, areeasily formed thus simply providing the flower supporting device, andreducing the manufacturing costs of the flower supporting device.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have beendisclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art willappreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions arepossible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the inventionas disclosed in the accompanying claims.

1. A flower supporting device, comprising a multi-layered supportstructure, wherein a plurality of rotatable beads is connected byconnection means having elasticity and forming a support body, thesupport body forming a knot support having a plurality of knots that areinterlocked, wherein the knot support is wound around a water containingsegment and is arranged to form the multi-layered support structure,wherein a stem of a flower is inserted into each of the knots or into aspace defined between the knots of the knot support of the multi-layeredsupport structure, wherein the knots of the knot support comprise: abasic knot provided by knotting the support body having the plurality ofrotatable beads, thus defining a basic space in the basic knot; and aplurality of consecutive knots provided by repeatedly executing aprocess of making a first consecutive knot, which is provided byinserting a remaining part of the support body into the basic space ofthe basic knot to define a first consecutive space in the firstconsecutive knot, and a second consecutive knot which is provided byinserting a remaining part of the support body into the firstconsecutive space to define a second consecutive space in the secondconsecutive knot, and wherein the knot support is wound so thatmulti-layers of the knot support are staggered one with another.
 2. Thedevice as set forth in claim 1, wherein a water and shock absorbingmaterial is further installed on an outer surface of each rotatable beadof the flower supporting device.
 3. The device as set forth in claim 1,wherein the knot support is wound a multitude of times on a supportframe, which has a predetermined configuration and is defined with aninsertion hole, through the insertion hole, wherein the knot supportrepeatedly passes upward and downward through the insertion hole.
 4. Thedevice as set forth in claim 1, wherein the water containing segmentcomprises a water and shock absorbing material which is composed of aplurality of small-sized spherical balls.
 5. The device as set forth inclaim 1, wherein the water containing segment has a closed space definedtherein, and the space being filled with air.